Published: Sunday, November 3, 2013 at 6:01 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, November 3, 2013 at 6:01 p.m.

FLAT ROCK - It almost wasn’t fair. Just as the pack of runners crested the steep hill, winded and sore from their climb, they were ambushed by a mob of brain-eating zombies.

Whirling and dodging, runners Zhenya Parker, 15, and David Saulsbury, 17, of Brevard evaded the horde of walking dead and sprinted downhill toward the finish line of the second Zombie Escape at Camp Ton-A-Wandah.

Parker and Saulsbury were among roughly 100 runners who pre-registered for Sunday’s 2.4-mile race presented by Hunter Subaru, which benefitted the Henderson County Soccer Association and the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce.

Despite nearly 50 zombified volunteers interspersed along the route, jumping out from behind foliage in apocalyptic pursuit, the two friends said they hoped next year’s event features more cannibalistic foes.

“We needed one more desperate swarm of zombies almost right at the end to chase you across the finish line,” said Saulsbury, who emerged from the race with his brain intact.

“You can never have too many zombies,” agreed Parker, a Brevard High cross-country runner who evaded zombies last weekend and placed first at the Brevard Rotary Club’s Flight of the Vampire 5K.

Runners, known as “escapees,” got three plastic flags to wear around their waists, each one representing a life. Runners could buy additional “lives” at $5 apiece. Winners of the race, including Saulsbury and Parker, crossed the finish line with at least one “life” that zombies hadn’t snatched away from them.

“The idea is the zombie disease has spread to the area and we’ve created a safe passage for Hendersonville escapees to evacuate,” explained race organizer Ellen Seagle. “It’s perilous, but it’s the best route to the safety zone.”

Runners not only had to climb steep hills and dodge zombies, but also negotiated eight different obstacles such as tires, pipes, netting and pallets. Zombie volunteer Nick Hart, 13, camouflaged himself under a pile of leaves in front of a stack of pallets and leapt out at startled runners as they neared his hiding spot.

Before the race, cosmetologist Amber Yancey of Salon 104 transformed volunteers into flesh-eating fiends in the camp’s dining hall. She used cream makeup to make their faces pallid, followed by black eye shadow around the eyes and a paper mache of glue and toilet paper to simulate peeling skin.

“You want to contour the face to give it a hollowed-out look,” said Yancey, who learned some of her zombie makeup tips online. Using blood made from corn syrup and red dye, she added bloody gashes and bleeding from the ears, then sent “victims” to get blow-dried.

Kym Roberts joined the zombie volunteer crew at the urging of clients at her job, Totally New You Personal Training Studio. She said she couldn’t bring herself to run in the race, so she joined the ranks of the undead instead.

“Running through the woods with zombies chasing me was more than I could take,” she said.

After surviving the apocalypse, escapees were invited to celebrate in the camp’s gym, its rafters festooned with bones and amputated limbs. Disc jockey Tom Ciaramitaro played spooky hits like “Bad Moon Rising” and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” while runners drank beer donated by Oskar Blues and Sierra Nevada and ate food from Hannah Flanagan’s.

Running from zombies was Garfield Long Jr.’s idea of the perfect way to wrap up the Halloween weekend. Long and his better half, Gabriell, brought their daughter and nieces with them Sunday from Cherokee, all wearing pink shirts he had made saying, “USDA Approved Zombie Bait.”

“This is the girls’ first zombie run,” said Gabriell. “We did it last year and it was so much fun, we decided to come back. The plan is they’re the bait and we’ll escape.”

<p>FLAT ROCK - It almost wasn't fair. Just as the pack of runners crested the steep hill, winded and sore from their climb, they were ambushed by a mob of brain-eating zombies.</p><p>Whirling and dodging, runners Zhenya Parker, 15, and David Saulsbury, 17, of Brevard evaded the horde of walking dead and sprinted downhill toward the finish line of the second Zombie Escape at Camp Ton-A-Wandah. </p><p>Parker and Saulsbury were among roughly 100 runners who pre-registered for Sunday's 2.4-mile race presented by Hunter Subaru, which benefitted the Henderson County Soccer Association and the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce. </p><p>Despite nearly 50 zombified volunteers interspersed along the route, jumping out from behind foliage in apocalyptic pursuit, the two friends said they hoped next year's event features more cannibalistic foes.</p><p>“We needed one more desperate swarm of zombies almost right at the end to chase you across the finish line,” said Saulsbury, who emerged from the race with his brain intact.</p><p>“You can never have too many zombies,” agreed Parker, a Brevard High cross-country runner who evaded zombies last weekend and placed first at the Brevard Rotary Club's Flight of the Vampire 5K.</p><p>Runners, known as “escapees,” got three plastic flags to wear around their waists, each one representing a life. Runners could buy additional “lives” at $5 apiece. Winners of the race, including Saulsbury and Parker, crossed the finish line with at least one “life” that zombies hadn't snatched away from them.</p><p>“The idea is the zombie disease has spread to the area and we've created a safe passage for Hendersonville escapees to evacuate,” explained race organizer Ellen Seagle. “It's perilous, but it's the best route to the safety zone.”</p><p>Runners not only had to climb steep hills and dodge zombies, but also negotiated eight different obstacles such as tires, pipes, netting and pallets. Zombie volunteer Nick Hart, 13, camouflaged himself under a pile of leaves in front of a stack of pallets and leapt out at startled runners as they neared his hiding spot.</p><p>Before the race, cosmetologist Amber Yancey of Salon 104 transformed volunteers into flesh-eating fiends in the camp's dining hall. She used cream makeup to make their faces pallid, followed by black eye shadow around the eyes and a paper mache of glue and toilet paper to simulate peeling skin.</p><p>“You want to contour the face to give it a hollowed-out look,” said Yancey, who learned some of her zombie makeup tips online. Using blood made from corn syrup and red dye, she added bloody gashes and bleeding from the ears, then sent “victims” to get blow-dried.</p><p>Kym Roberts joined the zombie volunteer crew at the urging of clients at her job, Totally New You Personal Training Studio. She said she couldn't bring herself to run in the race, so she joined the ranks of the undead instead.</p><p>“Running through the woods with zombies chasing me was more than I could take,” she said. </p><p>After surviving the apocalypse, escapees were invited to celebrate in the camp's gym, its rafters festooned with bones and amputated limbs. Disc jockey Tom Ciaramitaro played spooky hits like “Bad Moon Rising” and Michael Jackson's “Thriller,” while runners drank beer donated by Oskar Blues and Sierra Nevada and ate food from Hannah Flanagan's. </p><p>Running from zombies was Garfield Long Jr.'s idea of the perfect way to wrap up the Halloween weekend. Long and his better half, Gabriell, brought their daughter and nieces with them Sunday from Cherokee, all wearing pink shirts he had made saying, “USDA Approved Zombie Bait.”</p><p>“This is the girls' first zombie run,” said Gabriell. “We did it last year and it was so much fun, we decided to come back. The plan is they're the bait and we'll escape.” </p><p>Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.</p>